Stewart Russell: Peter, Tommie & John / reliving the dream
Stewart Russell: Peter, Tommie & John / reliving the dream
Now showing in SAM Central Atrium & Void
Melbourne-based artist Stewart Russell’s large-scale textile installation Peter, Tommie & John / reliving the dream explores one of the most influential political actions of the 20th century through the eyes of Australian Olympic silver medalist Peter Norman.
Expanding on an earlier project created by Russell in collaboration with late artist Kate Daw, Peter, Tommie & John / reliving the dream tells the story of the podium-top act of protest against racism instigated by African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, together with Australian athlete Peter Norman, at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico.
Featuring images and transcriptions drawn from interviews conducted with Peter prior to his death in 2006, these new works focus on the triumph of the athletes’ personal friendship, which endured in spite of their protest’s continued political repercussions.
A record-breaking event
Peter Norman, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos each reached the final of the Olympic 200m event after several heats of record-breaking running times. The final saw another shattering of the world record, with Tommie Smith bursting out a run of 19.78 seconds, followed closely by Peter Norman at 19.97 seconds, rounded off by John Carlos at 20.00 seconds.
Tommie Smith and Peter Norman had just become the first athletes to break 20 seconds for the 200m and no one would run under 20 seconds again until Carl Lewis at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Peter’s time would have won him the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Before the medal ceremony commenced, Tommie and John had decided to use the occasion to highlight the fundamental human rights issues Black Americans faced in the US, and invited Peter to join their protest. Peter accepted their invitation to stand in solidarity with them, pinning an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge to his Team Australia tracksuit. The act scandalised the Olympics, with Peter returning to Australia to suffer unofficial sanction and ridicule.
However, Peter's friendship with Tommie and John endured for a lifetime. After Peter passed away in 2006 at age 62, Tommie and John flew to Melbourne to carry his coffin out from Williamstown Town Hall.
About the Artist
Stewart Russell (b. 1965, Scotland) employs a range of media to examine narrative of cultural inheritance, collective identity, nationalism, and social justice.
Formerly working as director of London Printworks, Russell established Melbourne-based studio Spacecraft in 2000, where he works individually and collaboratively with artists, architects, and fashion designers to produce artworks which can be found in public spaces, galleries, and collections across the world.
Stewart Russell in the studio. Photo: Emma Byrnes, courtesy of the artist.
Featured image: Stewart Russell, Peter, Tommie & John / reliving the dream (detail), 2024. © the artist, photo by Shepparton Art Museum.
